1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a game apparatus displaying movie images during a game, a method of reproducing movie images, and a recording medium storing a program thereof. More particularly, the invention relates to a movie image reproducing technique permitting control of a change in depiction during game play.
2. Description of the Related Art
Along with the recent progress of the computer graphics technology, image processing in a TV game apparatus or the like is remarkably rising in importance for increasing the commercial value of products. Particularly, some recent games incorporate movie reproduction in the game, and are commanding general popularity as a result of high quality images.
The term xe2x80x9cmovie reproductionxe2x80x9d as used herein means sequential reproduction for display of movie image data (hereinafter simply referred to as xe2x80x9cmovie dataxe2x80x9d) comprising a collection of 2-D images (frame images) changing little by little. Movie reproduction provides a player of a game with images of a very high image quality.
For example, there is available a game in which backgrounds in the game are displayed by the use of movie data to achieve a higher quality of displayed images. In such a game, in which characters (moving objects) move in multiple directions in a virtual space in response to manual input from the player, it is necessary to interactively change movie images serving as background images relative to the directions in which the characters move.
As a conventional technique for interactively causing a change in a movie image, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-200679 discloses a rotary disk type information recorder. The disclosed recorder has a configuration based on a process comprising the steps of previously recording multiple kinds of movie data on both sides of a rotary disk type optical disk such as a CD-ROM, providing special optical heads on the surface and the back, respectively, of the optical disk, and reading out the movie data while switching over the movie data between the surface and the back of the optical disk by changing over the optical head to become valid.
However, a general home game apparatus comprises only one optical head, and only movie data recorded on one side of the optical disk serving as a recording medium can be read out. Consequently, it may be difficult to interactively change movie reproduction while keeping pace with the progress of the game. Thus, there is a demand for a technique permitting easy achievement of interactive changes in movie images.
The present invention therefore has an object to provide a game apparatus permitting easy interactive change in the stream of changes in movie images while matching the progress of the game, a method of reproducing a movie image, and a recording medium storing a program thereof.
To achieve the aforementioned object, the game apparatus of the present invention comprises a computer which controls a game, and a recording medium which stores movie image data and a computer program that controls the computer. The movie image data includes multiple streams, each stream corresponding to a direction of movement. The apparatus also includes an input device that detects a desired direction of movement based upon manual input, and a drive that reads image data from one of the plurality of streams corresponding to the desired direction of movement. The apparatus further includes a display that displays a series of images in accordance with the read image data. The displayed series of images changes when a new desired direction of movement is detected.
According to the invention, it is possible to control the stream changing depiction of the displayed image, for example, by switching over a stream changing depiction of a displayed image to another, in response to a manual input made by the player.
According to another aspect, the present invention provides a method of reproducing a movie image in a video game. The method includes detecting a desired direction of movement based upon manual input, and reading movie image data, corresponding to the desired direction of movement, from a plurality of streams of movie image data, each stream recorded in association with a direction of movement. The method also includes changing the displayed movie image in accordance with the read movie image data. Consequently, the displayed movie image changes when a new desired direction of movement is detected.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method of reproducing a movie image in a video game of the invention comprises detecting a stream changing depiction of a displayed image in response to a manual input made by a player; reading out movie image data corresponding to the detected stream changing depiction of the displayed image from movie image data recorded in correlation with each stream changing the displayed image; and changing the displayed image on the basis of the read-out movie image data.
By causing the computer to execute processing as described above, it is possible to obtain advantages similar to those available with the aforementioned game apparatus. Therefore, by executing the described processes by the use of hardware such as a computer, the game technique of the invention is easily applicable with such hardware.
According to the invention, there is almost no time lag between detection of the stream changing depiction of the displayed image and a change in the displayed image. It is therefore possible to achieve a natural movie reproduction.
In the aforementioned invention, the movie image corresponding to a first stream of a change in depiction may be recorded in pair with movie image data corresponding to a second stream changing depiction. In this case, a change in depiction of a stream and another change in depiction of a counter stream can be movie-reproduced.
According to the invention, it is possible to express a reversible change in depiction by conducting reproduction while switching over between the movie image data corresponding to the first stream and the movie image data corresponding to the second stream at any timing.
In the invention, the movie image data may be recorded on one side of an optical disk. In this case, it is possible to movie-reproduce a change in depiction of a stream and another change in depiction of a counter stream in a state in which a general optical disk storing data only on one side thereof is rotated only in one direction.
In the invention, the movie image data may be for reproducing a background image. In this case, it is possible to movie-reproduce background images in a game in a TV game apparatus or the like using an optical disk having a general configuration as a recording medium, thus making it possible to provide a game of a high image quality.
According to the invention, in which the background images are movie-reproduced along with move of an object of operation such as a character in game, it is possible to provide a game of a high image quality.
According to the invention, in which the view point is switched over in response to the stream of changes in depiction of the displayed image, the object of operation appears in a natural way relative to the background.
Further, in the invention, the movie image data may be for reproducing the process of series of changes in an object to be displayed with a changing manner. In this case, the manner of change in the object of display can be movie-reproduced.
According to the recording medium of the invention, the recording medium records a program for controlling display on display means of a computer wherein the recording medium records movie image data correlated with each stream changing depiction of a displayed image, and a program for reproducing a movie image; and the program causes the computer to detect the stream changing depiction of the displayed image in response to a manual input made by a player; to read out the movie image data corresponding to the stream changing depiction of the detected displayed image from among the recorded movie image data recorded in correspondence with each stream changing depiction of the displayed image; and to cause a change in the displayed image on the basis of the read-out movie image data.
The aforementioned method of reproducing a movie image of the invention can be achieved by the program recorded on the recording medium causing the computer to execute the above-mentioned steps. It is therefore possible to easily distribute and sell it as a software-product independently of the apparatus by means of the recording medium. The game technique of the invention can thus easily be materialized with these pieces of hardware by using this software product on hardware such as a computer.
The computer-readable recording medium of the invention has, on a recording surface, a first recording area which stores first movie image data for reproducing a stream changing a depiction in an array capable of being sequentially read out by a computer, and a second recording area which stores second movies image data in a data array reverse to that of the first movie image data, in an array capable of being sequentially read out by the computer.
According to the invention, it is possible to movie-reproduce a change in depiction of a stream and another change in depiction of a counter stream in a state in which a general optical disk storing data only on one side thereof is rotated only in one direction.